Compensating rolls for handling continuous lengths of materials in the form of strand, ropes, and the like



July l0, 1956 J. J. FRANKLIN 2,753,706

COMPENSATING ROLLS FOR HANDLING CONTINUOUS LENGTHS OF MATERIALS IN THEFORM OF STRAND, ROPES AND THE LIKE July 10, 1956 J. J. FRANKLIN2,753,706

COMPENSATING ROLLS FOR HANDLING CONTINUOUS LENGTHS OF MATERIALS IN THEFORM OE STRAND, ROPES, AND THE LIKE Filed Jan. 28, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 2July 10, 1956 J. J. FRANKLIN 2,753,705

COMPENSATING ROLLS FOR HANDLING CONTINUOUS LENGTHS OF MATERIALS IN THEFORM OF STRAND, ROPES, AND THE LIKE Filed Jan. 28, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 3WMM United States Patent O COMPENSATING ROLLS FOR HANDLING CON- TINUOUSLENGTHS OF MATERIALS IN THE FORM OF STRAND, ROPES, AND THE LIKE John J.Franklin, Glcnside, Pa., assignor to Proctor & Schwartz, Inc.,Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application January 28,1953, Serial No. 333,702

7 Claims. (Cl. 68-9) The present invention relates to apparatuscomprising one or more handling rolls for continuous lengths of materialin strand or rope form at a speed which is automatically compensated tothe speed at which the material is advanced to the roll or rolls withoutchanging the speed at which the roll or rolls are driven.

In the processing of continuous lengths of materials in strand or ropeform, various factors such as, for example, shrinkage or stretch in thematerial, may cause fluctuations in the rate or speed at which thematerial progresses through the processing apparatus. In such event, thehandling speed must be made slower or faster according to theliuctuations in the feed speed of the material. These uctuations in thefeed speed or progress of the material in the apparatus is notpredeterminable and the compensation for any variation must becontrolled by the condition of the material in the machine. If thematerial slows down, for example, due to shrinkage, and there is nocompensating mechanism associated with the handling rolls, the materialmay become tensioned so as to cause binding of the material and set upstresses and strains in its body which impair its high quality. If thematerial speeds up, for example, due to stretching, and the apparatuslacks compensating means to speed up the handling rolls, the materialwill accumulate in the apparatus and will either jam it or spill out onthe iloor.

Prior compensating methods in processing equipment have provedunsatisfactory for one reason or another. For example, in the case oftubular knit fabric, the fabric is usually handled in rope form througha series of individual washers with squeeze rolls between. In manycases, these rolls are not controlled as to speed and in order tocompensate for variations in the feed of the material, the operator mustphysically separate the rolls intermittently and hold the fabric back inorder to retain the desired quantity of material in the precedingwasher. If this method is employed, constant watchfulness is required onthe part of the operator. In other methods, the handling rolls aredriven through a variable speed transmission which must be adjustedmanually by the operator, in accordance with the rate of feed of thematerial, or alternatively, the transmission must be provided withcomplex compensating mechanism involving feelers which are responsive tothe feed of the material to vary the speed of the transmission. In theformer case, the same watchfulness is required of the operator, and inthe latter case, the equipment is very expensive.

With the foregoing in mind, the principal object of the invention is toprovide novel handling equipment for continuous lengths of material instrand or rope form which automatically compensates for changes in therate of progress of the material handled.

A further object of the invention is to provide novel handling equipmentfor continuous lengths of material wherein the rate of handling of thematerial is determined by the rate of progress of the material.

More specifically, the invention contemplates the provision of novelmaterial handling equipment of the char- Patented July 10, 1956 acterset forth having one or more handling rolls which are tapered to providevarying rates of handling of the material according to the point ofengagement of the material with the roll along its longitudinal length.

A further object of the invention is to provide continuous-lengthmaterial handling equipment as hereinafter set forth and described whichis operable automatically to compensate for changes in the rate ofprogress of the material in an effective and efficient manner withinexpensive equipment, without reliance on the operators watchfulness,and without building up tension or slack in the strand material.

These and other objects of the invention and the various features anddetails of the construction and operation thereof are more fully setforth hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a longitudinal section of a scray washer embodying handlingrolls made in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view schematically illustrating the operation ofthe scray washer illustrated in Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 4--4 of Fig. l;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view of a modified arrangement ofhandling rolls made in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 6 is a transverse section taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a side elevational view of a further embodiment of the presentinvention;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on the line S-8 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a side elevational View of another embodiment of the presentinvention;

Fig. 10 is a sectional view taken on the line 10-10 of Fig. 9;

Fig. ll is a side elevational view of yet another embodiment of thepresent invention;

Fig. l2 is a sectional View taken on the line 12-12 of Fig. ll; and,

Fig. 13 is a schematic representation of another mode of operationwithin the scope of the present invention.

The present invention is applicable to the handling of continuouslengths of almost any material in strand, rope, or like form in which itis desired to control the speed at which the material is handled incorrespondence to the rate at which the material is supplied or advancedto the handling rolls. However, for the purposes of description, thepresent invention will be described in connection with apparatus for thehandling of continuous lengths of textile materials in the form ofstrands, ropes, and the like.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. l to 4 of the drawings, theinvention is applied to scray washers wherein a plurality of individualwasher tanks are arranged side by side in series. In the presentinstance, three such washers are employed as indicated at 11, 12, and 13in Fig. 3. Each washer consists of a generally rectangular tank havingside walls 14 and 15 and an end wall 16. A concave scray element 17comprises the bottom of the tank. The scray slopes downwardly from thetop edge and terminates at the bottom of the end wall 16. The tank isfluid-tight and is provided with ports 18 and 19 for the admission anddischarge of the bath liquid.

In the operation of the washer, the strand material is fed through thethree tanks consecutively, as illustrated in Fig. 3. At the start of theprocess, the material, indicated by the reference numeral 21, is fedinto the first tank 11, for example, by a positively driven roller 22,The roller deposits the material on the scray element 17,

for example, lapping it back and forth as illustrated in Fig. 2. Theweight of the material causes it to slide down the scray 17 as indicatedby the arrows 23 and into the liquid bath to a handling zone at thebottom of the scray, where the material is withdrawn by a pair ofhandling rolls 24 and 25 respectively positioned above the deliveryzone, as will be described more fully hereinafter. The handling rollswithdraw the material from the wash liquid and feed it into the secondtank 12 as illustrated schematically in Fig. 3.

The handling rolls 24 and 25 are generally' frustroconical in shape andoverlie the path of travel of the strand material 21 on the scray 17approximately parallel thereto. With reference to Fig. l, it is seenthat the roll surfaces are tapered in a direction opposite to thedirection of travel of the material on the scray 17 indicated by thearrows 23. The roll 25 is positively driven at a predetermined rate ofspeed as indicated at 26, and the roll 24 is mounted for free rotationin pressure contact with the roll 25. The pressure contact between therolls 24 and 25 will squeeze out the liquid trapped in the body of thestrand material as the latter is withdrawn from the tank.

Scray washers of this character are conventionally ernployed for washingand rinsing tubular knit goods which are passed through the apparatus inrope form such, for example, as the strand 21. Tubular knit fabric isespecially susceptible to shrinkage and stretching during processing sothat the progress of the material through the apparatus will varyaccordingly, and, consequently, it is desirable to provide means forvarying the rate of handling of the material in accordance with the rateor speed at which the material feeds or progresses through theapparatus.

In accordance with the present invention, the rolls 24 and 25 compensatechanges in the rate of progress of the strand material through the scraywasher. The decreasing radius of tapered rolls provides means forvarying the rate of handling, since the latter rate is dependentdirectly upon the radius of the handling roll at the point where thestrand material engages the roll. For example, a dilerence of one inchin radius will eiect a difference of over six inches of feed for eachrevolution of the handling roll.

In the operation of the device, therefore, the position of the leadinglap 28 of the material in the handling zone at the bottom of the scrayelement 17 will determine the rate of handling effected by the rolls 24and 25. The position of the leading lap 28 in the handling zone isdetermined by the amount of material on the scray element. If, forexample, due to the stretching of the strand, an excess of material isretained in the tank, the material will force the leading lap 2S to theright as seen in Fig. l. If, on the other hand, the strand materialshrinks, the extent of progress of the material in the tank will beless, so that the leading lap 28 will travel to the left. The positionof the leading lap 23 determines the point along the line of contact ofthe rolls at which the strand is nipped.

Because of the taper in the rolls, as the nip is urged to the right, thehandling speed will be increased, and as the nip is urged to the left,the handling speed will be decreased. Since the handling speed isdependent upon the radius of the handling rolls at the point of nip, andsince the point of nip is determined by the position of the leading lap28 on the scray element, the handling rolls 24 and 25 automaticallycompensate for variations in the progress of the material through theapparatus. It should be noted further that the material, as it travelsdown the scray element 17 and into the handling zone, is not subjectedto any internal stresses or strains but travels unconstrained under itsown weight and is entirely free during its travel until it is liftedbodily out of the bath by the rolls 24 and 25. In the present instancethe rolls are positioned so that the line of contact between them whichproduces the nip on the material is horizontal but it has been foundthat this line may assume any angle without affecting the efliciency ofthe machine, as long as the roll is tapered in a direction opposite tothe direction of travel of the material on the scray.

In the modied form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6,pressure is applied between two generally frustro-conical handling rollsto more effectively squeeze the bath Huid from the strand material. Inthis embodiment the rolls are disposed in horizontal, side by siderelation. The driven roll 31 is mounted on an arm 32 which is pivoted onthe frame 33 as indicated at 34. An idler roll 3S is rotatably mountedin a relatively xed position on the frame 33 adjacent the driven roll31. The arm 32 which mounts the roll 31 extends beyond the pivot 34 andis connected at its opposite end to a pressure cylinder 36 which ispivotally mounted at its other end on the frame 33 as indicated at 37.By this arrangement, the pressure cylinder will exert a predeterminedconstant pressure on the arm 32 so as to cause the driven roll 31 tobear against the idler roll 35 with a constant predetermined force. Inthis instance, the strand material 3S may be looped over the idler roll35 since the roll 31 will be under sucient pressure to frictionallydrive the idler roll and thereby handle the strand material 38 withoutslippage. As in the previous embodiment the rolls 31 and 35 are taperedin a direction opposite to the direction of travel of the strandmaterial on the scray, and operate automatically to compensate forchanges in the rate of progress in the manner described above.

A further embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8.In this instance, the frusto-conical handling rolls 41 and 42 are bothpositively driven and are in spaced-apart relation so that there is nosqueezing of the strand material. The material 43 is looped around boththe rolls as clearly illustrated in Fig. 8 and the tortuous path thereofwill cause suflicient frictional engagement between the material and therolls that the feed of the material will be positive and will becontrolled by rotation of the rolls. As in the previous embodiment thehandling rolls compensate automatically for changes in the rate ofprogress of the material because of their tapered configuration which,as described above in connection with Figs. l to 4, determines the rateof handling of the strand material in accordance with the amount ofmaterial within the washer.

The application of the invention to handling continuous lengths ofmaterial does not require the use of two handling rolls, but a singlefrustro-conical driven roll may be used as illustrated at 46 in Figs. 9and 10 without departure from the invention. This embodiment of theinvention is especially suitable for materials which have frictionalcharacteristics and which will frictionally engage the roll without thenecessity of pressure from a second idler roll. Here again the roll istapered and the rate of handling will be determined by the quantity ofmaterial within the washer.

Another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Fig. 1l wherein agenerally frustro-conical roll 51 takes the form of opposed ellipticalend plates 52 and 53 having mounted between them, a plurality of axialslats 54. The plates are connected together by a common shaft 55 and arepositively driven, such, for example, as indicated at 56 in Fig. ll. Inthis embodiment of the invention, the contact between the roll and thematerial being processed is minimized. As the roll rotates about itsaxis, because of the elliptical configuration, the material will bethrown out regularly so as to afford wider distribution of the materialwithin the tank. It should be noted that the end plate 52 is greater indiameter than the end plate 53 so that the slats 54 dene a tapered rollsurface. The taper will provide for compensating handling of thematerial from the processing apparatus as described hereinbefore. Thisembodiment of the invention is especially applicable to dyeing processwhere it is desired to minimize the contact between the material and theapparatus so as to alord more even permeation of the dyestuff into thebody of the strand material.

The invention is not limited to scray washers nor to any specific typeof conveyor. For example, the invention has utility in other systemswherein the strand material passes through a chamber on an endless apronconveyor. This is illustrated schematically in Fig. 13 wherein thestrand material 61 is looped onto a conveyor 62 at the feed end of themachine. It then passes through a chamber 63 and out the other sidetowards a handling zone underlying a pair of frustro-conical handlingrolls 64. The rolls 64 may be constructed similarly to the rolls of anyof the embodiments set forth above so as to similarly compensate forvariations in the rate of progress of the strand material during itspassage through the chamber. For the purposes of illustration, the rolls64 are shown in the arrangement set forth at 24 and 25 in Figs. l to 4.For example, if the material shrinks as it travels thro-ugh the chamberand the conveyor 62 delivers less material than the handling roll islifting olf the conveyor, the point in the handling zone at which thematerial will be lifted olf the conveyor 62 approaches the chamber 63,so as to cause the nip on the strand 61 to be urged to the left. Thesmaller diameter of the rolls at this point will cause a reduction inthe handling speed so as to correspond to the rate of progress of thematerial on the conveyor. If the material stretches and accumulates onthe conveyor, the material will be lifted off the conveyor at a point inthe handling zone more remote from the chamber which will cause the nipon the strand to be urged to the right as Viewed in Fig. 13. Thus, thenip will be at a point of greater diameter and the handling speed willbe increased so as to compensate for the increased rate of progress dueto the greater length of material being delivered by the conveyor. As inthe previously described embodiments, the material travels unconstrainedon the conveyor. Therefore, it will not be subjected to any internalstresses or strains and it may be of a uniform, standard high quality.

The various modifications of the invention herein illustrated anddescribed are not exhaustive. For example, both handling rolls need notbe frusto-conical but it is within the scope of the invention to haveonly one roll tapered in a direction opposite to the direction of travelof the material in the apparatus, the other roll, which provides thenip, being straight. Similarly, the axes of the roll need not be exactlyparallel to the direction of travel but may be tilted or positionedangularly just so long as the roll is tapered in a general directionopposite to the direction of travel.

As previously pointed out, the present invention is applicable to thehandling of almost any material in continuous strand, rope, and likeform, and while the invention has been described with particularrelation to the processing of textile materials in such forms, it is notintended to limit the invention to such materials. Furthermore, it isintended that changes and modifications may be made in and to theapparatus and method within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In apparatus for handling continuous lengths of material in strand,rope and like form, a plurality of elongated tanks arranged incontiguous laterally adjacent alignment, feeding means mounted adjacentone end of the rst tank and operable to introduce the textile materialinto said tank in overlapping runs disposed transversely of the tank,handling means to remove the material from said rst tank comprisingtapered roll means mounted adjacent the opposite end of the tank forrotation about a generally horizontal axis overlying the side of saidtank adjacent the second tank, a surfacein said iirst tank declininglongitudinally downward from a point adjacent said feeding means andterminating in a terminal portion disposed below and substantiallycoextensive with the length of said tapered roll means, said surface andsaid feeding means cooperating to advance the overlapping runs ofmaterial unconstrained in a direction generally opposite to thedirection of taper of said tapered roll means and into said terminalportion, a surface in said second tank declining longitudinally downwardfrom a point adjacent said tapered roll means and terminating in aterminal portion adjacent the other end of said second tank, a secondtapered roll means coextensive with and lying above said last-mentionedterminal portion and mounted for rotation about a generally horizontalaxis overlying the side of said second tank remote from the first tank,said first and second tapered roll means being substantially paralleland tapered in opposite directions, said first roll means operable tofeed the material into the second tank in overlapping runs disposedtransversely of said second surface, said roll and surface cooperatingto advance the overlapping runs of material uncontained into saidlast-mentioned terminal portion in a direction opposite to the directionof taper of said second roll means, and drive means for said taperedroll means operable to rotate the same at predetermined speeds to effecthandling of the material from said terminal portions at rates determinedby the radius of the tapered roll means at the points of engagement ofsaid tapered roll means by the material being determined automaticallyby the extent of advancement of the material into said terminalportions.

2. Apparatus according to claim l wherein each said tapered roll meanscomprises a pair of tapered rolls mounted for rotation aboutsubstantially horizontal axes and tapered in the same direction.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said rolls are in contactalong the length thereof.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 including pressurebias means biasingsaid rolls into contact.

5. In apparatus for handling continuous lengths of material in strand,rope and like form, a tank having oppositely spaced inlet and outletends and provided with a sloping bottom surface declining in onedirection substantially from the inlet end to the outlet end of saidtank, material feeding means adjacent the inlet end at the upper end ofsaid declining bottom` surface operable to feed the continuous length ofmaterial into said tank and onto said declining bottom surface in thedirection of decline thereof in successive overlapping runs extendingtransversely of the direction of decline of said tank bottom surface,handling means to withdraw the material from the outlet end of said tankcomprising a tapered roll overlying the lower terminal portion of saidtank bottom surface at the outlet end of the tank and spaced from thematerial feeding means in the direction of decline of the tank bottomsurface to afford an accumulation of said overlapping runs of materialon the declining surface between said feeding means and said taperedroll, said tapered roll having its axis lying longitudinally of thedirection of decline of the tank bottom surface with the taper of theroll extending oppositely to the direction of feed of the material andtoward said feeding means, and drive means to rotate said tapered rollat a selected constant speed to elect unrestrained withdrawal of thematerial from said terminal portion of the tank bottom surface at a ratedetermined by the radius of the tapered roll at the point of engagementthereof by said material, the point at which the material engages saidtapered roll longitudinally thereof varying automatically in response tochanges in the extent of advancement of the material upon said terminalportion of the tank bottom surface in the direction of decline thereofto thereby vary the rate of withdrawal of the material from the tankaccording to changes in the length of the material in the tank.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said handling means includes asecond tapered roll revolving about a substantially horizontal axisadjacent said first horizontal axis and tapered in the same direction assaid rst tapered roll.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said first References Cited inthe le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Hartley June 25, 1907 VonRecklinghausen Mar. 7, 1939 Truesdail Nov. 2, 1943 Lindsay Apr. 18, 1950FOREIGN PATENTS France Dec. 29, 1936 France May 3, 1950

1. IN APPARATUS FOR HANDLING CONTINUOUS LENGTHS OF MATERIAL IN STRAND,ROPE AND LIKE FORM, A PLURALITY OF ELONGATED TANKS ARRANGED INCONTIGUOUS LATERALLY ADJACENT ALIGNMENT, FEEDING MEANS MOUNTED ADJACENTONE END OF THE FIRST TANK AND OPERABLE TO INTRODUCE THE TEXTILE MATERIALINTO SAID TANK IN OVERLAPPING RUNS DISPOSED TRANSVERSELY OF THE TANK,HANDLING MEANS TO REMOVE THE MATERIAL FROM SAID FIRST TANK COMPRISINGTAPERED ROLL MEANS MOUNTED ADJACENT THE OPPOSITE END OF THE TANK FORROTATION ABOUT A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL AXIS OVERLYING THE SIDE OF SAIDTANK ADJACENT THE SECOND TANK, A SURFACE IN SAID FIRST TANK DECLININGLONGITUDINALLY DOWNWARD FROM A POINT ADJACENT SAID FEEDING MEANS ANDTERMINATING IN A TERMINAL PORTION DISPOSED BELOW AND SUBSTANTIALLYCOEXTENSIVE WITH THE LENGTH OF SAID TAPERED ROLL MEANS, SAID SURFACE ANDSAID FEEDING MEANS COOPERATING TO ADVANCE THE OVERLAPPING RUNS OFMATERIAL UNCONSTRAINED IN A DIRECTION GENERALLY OPPOSITE TO THEDIRECTION OF TAPER OF SAID TAPERED ROLL MEANS AND INTO SAID TERMINALPORTION, A SURFACE IN SAID SECOND TANK DECLINING LONGITUDINALLY DOWNWARDFROM A POINT ADJACENT SAID TAPERED ROLL MEANS AND TERMINATING IN ATERMINAL PORTION ADJACENT THE OTHER END OF SAID SECOND TANK, A SECONDTAPERED ROLL MEANS COEXTENSIVE WITH